In a startling revelation, over a year after the spot-fixing scandal broke, Pakistani cricketer Mohammad Amir has confessed to bowling deliberate no-balls during a Test match in England. The man accused of setting up the deal, Mazher Majeed, also pleaded guilty.

Amir submitted his written confession in Southwark Crown Court, London, through his British lawyer Gareth Pierce’s firm Birnberg Peirce & Partners. An official confirmed that the statement maintained that Amir was coerced into his actions, rather than acting out of greed. An official from Birnberg Peirce & Partners, when contacted by The Express Tribune, refused to comment further.

Former captain Salman Butt and bowler Mohammad Asif are also accused of involvement, though their statements are yet to be heard. The three players and Majeed are being tried by Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

Having finally changed his line, Amir may be hoping to reduce the length of a possible prison sentence. The three players are charged on two counts. Firstly, with conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments, which falls under the 1906 Corruption Act, and carries a maximum sentence of seven years. They are also charged with conspiracy to cheat, under the 2005 Gambling Act, which carries a two-year maximum sentence.

Details are yet to emerge on the strategy behind Amir’s move. The three players maintained their innocence during hearings conducted by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in Doha in February, only to be found guilty of breaching the ICC’s corruption laws. Amir was banned from all forms of cricket for five years, Asif for seven, and Butt for ten.

The ongoing hearings are part of a criminal case, however, and therefore the prospect of jail, rather than their cricket careers, is at stake. Amir may have been offered a plea bargain. His sentence will now almost certainly be less than it would have been had he pleaded innocence and subsequently been found guilty. It is yet to be seen if Butt and Asif, due to appear in court on October 4, follow suit. While Butt was unreachable, Asif told The Express Tribune that he was “unable to comment since the case is in court.”

The confession is always appreciated by the court, especially in the UK,” a legal expert told The Express Tribune. “Butt and Asif have pleaded not guilty but after Amir’s confession, it has been proved that a crime was committed. The only thing left in the case is to assess the role of each player in the crime.”

The three players were the subjects of a ‘sting’ by The News of the World, a British tabloid, during Pakistan’s tour of England in 2010.

The newspaper revealed video footage of Majeed, who acts as a sports agent among other business ventures, accepting a bribe of £140,000 from journalists pretending to be gamblers. In the tapes, Majeed clearly stated that certain deliveries during Pakistan’s fielding performance would be no-balls.

This information could then be used by gamblers for spot-betting, which is when bets are placed on particular incidents in a match rather than the ultimate outcome.

Amir and Asif, with captain Butt overseeing their movements, delivered no-balls on the deliveries predicted by Majeed in the recorded videos. The newspaper’s evidence seemed comprehensive and damning. Having been passed on to Scotland Yard, who conducted its own further investigations, the players appeared to have no case, a verdict echoed by the ICC. Having lost a significant part of his cricketing career, it appears Amir and his legal team are now, if somewhat belatedly, set on damage limitation.

A CPS spokesperson did confirm to The Express Tribune that the court may take up to three weeks to deliver its verdict on the case next month.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 17th, 2011.

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Do you believe Mohammad Amir should be allowed to represent Pakistan in future after his confession in spot-fixing case?

Wow just wow! Not that this is any surprise, but how can he go to a local TV channel and tell the world how he had nothing to do with bribery or cheating and then confess his wrong doing in the court of law??

Greatly set up by the British! Fools fell trap to them.
I loved his bowling and still do. But I think he should not be allowed to come back.
Trust me if we make one good example no one will dare to follow.
The only problem is we let go these fools too often.

Uh Oh…all these days my friends were saying that….Mohd Amir was innocent and this was a conspiracy hatched by BCCI and ECB to destroy Pakistan cricket team and finish the career of Pak bowlers.

England got so scared of Pak fast bowlers that they trapped these players and got them banned. Another theory was that Pakistanis can do no wrong and they are always victims. This was the popular theme in these forums last year.

I wish Pakistanis will get the ability to distinguish between right and wrong at least now. Because time is running out for you folks !

When Pakistanis were crying that these cricketers were not criminals but victims it was tantamount to supporting their crimes. Even if they are caught red-handed in camera and lot of cash still it is the Western conspiracy.
I was sorry to see Amir being punished severely at his tender age. However, to get shorter term he had to tell the truth, show remorse, apologize and be a witness against his gang. He did not do any of this, instead he appeared at the enquiry in Qatar wearing a T-shirt demanding legalization of marijuana! As the holy book says “the truth would set you free”. I hope Amir learns from this episode and cleans himself for a bright career. The other guys are all done with cricket and would continue with their pathetic lies and criminal lives. They have chosen quick free money over long career for their country.

Just a few days ago, manny of our Pakistani brothers were supporting these guys propogating theory that they are innocents and have been framed in some western conspiracy against Pakistan…..Finally truth has come out…@ Bangash…you are right brother, these guys would have never accepted it in a Pakistani court….

Its good to confess if one really thinks he has done bad and will not repeat it. We are still waiting for a public apology though which has not come from either of the players. They must be apologetic to common fans who leave everything to watch their favorites performing at the highest level.

Most of the players in Pakistan’s team belong from the lower middle or middle class families. As they are not rich, and want to become, they can be easily captured by offering money. As well as there is lack of education which will enable them to distinguish between right and wrong. Asif and Aamir have immense talent but lack of education, integrity and discipline has ruined it.
PCB should establish a culture where minimum education requirements should be met before including any player in the team. The culture of favoritism (parchi) should be replaced with the culture where positions of players and administrators are based on talent therefore country’s interest is not subordinated by individual’s or group’s interest.

This is the time to finally stem this ugly affair of things. No player is above the law and since the confession has come, it is revealed that Amir is a criminal. Alongwith Asif and Butt (Salman), Amir should not have any chance to come back and along with the bans imposed by the ICC, PCB should ban these players. No amount of cricket should be left in them to make them wear the green caps again.If these strict measures are taken now, it will be a statement made for generations to come in cricket of Pakistan. Even if it takes to let go of such talents like Amir.

It is sad to see that after Amir started telling the truth, same people who were his supporters when he was lying are now against him. No wonder most people lie all the time in Pakistan, the society does not encourage the truth and cannot handle it. Young Amir should be appreciated for finally telling the truth and not criticized. We should encourage people who tell the truth and not the other way around! Let us embrace and forgive this talented kid and reject the hardened criminals who are still sticking to lies. Amir has been punished appropriately by the authorities for his crimes.

What most ppl fail to understand is that setting up the deal throug newsh mazhar majeed annd tn starting the news of thr world sting operation is the actual conspiracy.. i habe sympathies with aamir cause he was forced to join in delibirately.. what power does a new commer to the team has against the captain of the team..

Amir is brave to accept his crime. We all do sins and mistakes in life and it doesnt mean that its the end of life. For his bad act he must be punished and i m sure he will come back and will be a new Amir , more talented and error free. Love u Amir for ur brave act of commiting …

Aamir could have avoided 5 years ban by confessing during ICC hearing in February. There was news that he was offered to accept that and give evidence to ICC and in return he will be allowed to play even world cup but at that time, he was keep telling that he is innocent despite all evidence was against him.

Now I dont understand what forced him accepting his crime. This is amazing. I am quite sure that there is an under table deal for him to accept……… Let see how thing unfold in next few days.Recommend

@Sara:
@ Sara – some people follow “cricket” not teams.
I am myself a Pakistani and a die hard cricket fan, but this is something that is not to be confined to “Pakistani cricket”, you cannot ask “cricket” fans to just follow their own teams can you ?

This is an international conspiracy and for sure CIA, Mossad, RAW, FSS, Burkina Faso Secret Service and all other international agencies who have nothing else to do have conspired against the Islamic Republic of Pakistan the last Bastion of Islam and they want to target these Cricket Mujaheddin and malign them……I am awaiting a statement from Mr/Hazrat. Zaid Hamids office hopefully in English to address this serious issue. Recommend

@Malik
I think you’re from India…..your cricketers are not role models…..an example is Mohd Azharuddin who was actively involved in match fixing and was band for life.

I am a Pakistani and a cricket fan…..I believe what these three have done is absolutely wrong and they shouldn’t get any kind of apology….they should get the maximum punishment (like ban for life). This will be an example for other players (Pakistani players as well as others).

Can we now expect Wajid Shamsul Hasan, the Pakistan High Commissioner in London, to formally apologise for his defence of the indefensible when he had declared, following an interview with the players, that they were innocent? He had also condemned the International Cricket Council for banning the Pakistani players charged with spot fixing. Recommend

@Pure Pak:
You should be ashamed of pleading on behalf of criminals … How about you pay your gatekeeper 150,000 Rs per month along with millions in bonuses and after he becomes millionaire he robs your house … Are you going to forgive him then saying he was from poor background ?.
We had Sarfaraz Nawaz and Imran Khan before W.Akram then Waqar Younis, Saqlain Mushtaq, Shoab Akhtar, Mohd Sammi … banning one corrupt cheater can’t stop this country to produce raw talent. His Test average is 29.09 whereas Shoab Akhtar’s average is 25 .. and you guys are comparing him to greats like W.Akram et al.
In my opinion these three should have been punished severely for bribery and should have been put behind the bars .. there were many unknown stars who were denied their chance for these cheats. Each time they play again the commentators will talk about what they did in front of millions of viewer, bringing more shame to us.

well there is no justification of doing something of that nature where a nations respect is at stake. they should be punished so that no body should think doing the same in future. the players lied as well that they have not been involved and now they are coming with confessional statements.

@Mohmad Chakera…you should remember, India never considered Azhar as role model for Indian cricketers and kindly remember, BCCI banned him for life without delay and without giving him any chance to come back even in commentry. Indians dont live in denials, if one is found guilty, one is punished promptly. Had that taken place in Pakistan, it would not have come to such a pass.
@Sara, if you are so concerned about your country’s cricket, keep it to yourself..no one wants to play with your country…you might be aware, it is Ijaz Butt running around asking India to please play Pakistan…India does not bother about playing Pakistan…So, chill.

@Haider Rizvi: They become excellent cricket players because they do not study and spend all their time at the cricket ground. If Asif or Amir were spending 8 hours a day in school, books and homework they would not be very good in cricket.

The PCB has the responsibility to continue their education at a slow and steady pace in between the matches and during the free time. This is done in many other countries of the world.

@Paki:
The punishment should fit the crime. Small crime small punishment, big crime big punishment. The court decides the magnitude of the crime. Once Amir, Asif or Salman complete the punishment the crime is over and they can start new. One crime cannot be held against a person forever.

An international marketing guru recently said, “Detergent companies have an association with whiteness and purity and Indian cricketers are apt choices for such brands looking for right ethical behaviour !”

Wow…our Certified Sattay Baaz finally confessed.
Principally all 3 should now be punsihed by our local courts as they take bedlam to country. All properties in thier name should be confiscated.
All thier records in Cricket Books should be eliminated.
Good Riddance!

I think it’s another opportunity to reflect and stop living in denial as Nation. Enough with victim mentality, perhaps it’s time to start carrying weight of our mistakes. Bad things happen every where it’s the response to those bad things which makes the difference.

Generalising corruption and relating it to lower income class or lack of education is an invalid argument…as if educated/ affluent won’t be involved corruption ? we all know about this minority who holds graduate degree and happens to be very very affluent …although i am invovled in generlisation again, if you know what i mean ? :PRecommend

Aamir is young and vulnerable … He has already lost much and will definitely lose much of his cricketing career, he has made mistakes no doubt, but i believe its never too late to do the right thing … He has done the right thing atlast…

However, the other two, with all their experience and professional cricket behind them cast a serious doubt over each and every match they have played. They should not be allowed to come back to Pakistan cricket…

@Adeel have guts to prove how India won world cup by cheating…if you can not prove, then just shut up…

@ What role has ICC to play if the man in question himself is saying that he committed what he did…it only means that he is doing so, understanding that accepting it would bring down his punishment as he could not prove himself innocent. Proof against him was far too much…

1) PCB still hasn’t banned any of the 3 Cricketers, especially Amir, who has not confessed. Compare this with BCCI banning 2 of its main Cricketers, without even a trial.
2) In the poll held above, majority think Amir should play again. So even if you are corrupt its ok, they are saying.

@Murtaza Mandviwala: Following “cricket” in general is great. What bothers me is undue criticism of “our cricket team”. You cant go on blaming the whole Pakistani Cricket Team for this fiasco. As for our neighbors: “People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.” (:

@maxwell: Tsk tsk. Such stuff coming form the supposedly “Number ONE”.. okay.. no.. make that number NON EXISTENT!! Such arrogance.. but for what? Maybe start focusing on your cricket instead of IPL! England destroyed you!! I wonder who would want to play with you now. Hmmm. (:

He should had further said that he was influenced by Salman Butt and M Amir. By blaming them may help him in getting his punishment reduce a bit. Btw he had to confess it else he would be facing 7 years prison in UK jail, as per their law and failing to comply that rule may put him up on the blacklist of entering UK for ever. Now he may just get a pardon verdict at least from the UK court which of course wont be influencing ICC decision. ICC may only reduce his ban if International Court of Sports of Justice recommends it, where they have already registered their plea, but after this confession, I doubt they will. Personally i still believe spot fixing is a lesser crime than match fixing and 18 years old can be easily tamed for it by the culture around him/them so I do have sympathies for Amir but nothing for the other two.Recommend

@Sara:
We don’t criticize your cricket team; and no one is criticizing your cricket team is either.

But, what rankles everyone is the way, you fans seems to be supporting unethical behaviour just for the reason that they also happen to be muslims. Afridi, the captain, was seen biting the ball in full public glare. You fans supported him saying that Afridi did to help his country win. Shoaib Akhtar has been caught on dope charges and Asif was caught in Dubai airport with drugs.

And Three players were caught fixing; you fans till recently were crying hoarse that this was the conspiracy of BCCI and ECB. You people just seem to be supporting anyone, just because they are Muslims.
This clearly indicates that you people don’t have the ability to DISTINGUISH BETWEEN WHAT IS RIGHT AND WHAT IS WRONG. These things can’t be taught. These are inborn qualities. As long as you people don’t have it, your players also will not have it !

Two things I dont understand. What do people exactly mean that he was talented and than ofcourse given a second chance. There have been a lot of talented people coming in and by no way there should be a chance given to a person who has done wrong.It is this culture of ours that has let our nation and country morals down because we want to bend and temper rules for people and that is not on. Second , what was Amir doing when pleading not guilty in front of ICC tribunal. One of the dumbest explanation people, cricket pundits and Amirs close associates have come up is that he was young and NASAMAJH…. give me a break guys…. he had the brains to sell himself for an amount and spot fix a few deliveries but was not able to comprehend that his career was being put in a jeopardy.I sincerely hope ICC does not let him go loose after his late self confession. Believe me guys , this will be good for Pakistan cricket. If unfortunately thsi guy joins the Pakistani team and sits in the dressing room of the other guys, what respect will he have and what message will he be delivering to the youngsters….. that lets spot fix a match and get away with it….. save Pakistan cricket please by getting rid of Amir, Asif and Butt (Salman).

@maxwell:
Sachin Tendulkar is more educated than 80% of our cricket players. You cannot imagine the sorry state of affairs of education in Pakistan and of Pakistani cricket players. This is why when they see the fame and glory of cricket they go blind and lose their morals and values.

Amir, Asif and Salman are the tip of the iceburg. You cannot imagine the filth in our cricket team.

For all my Indian friends. Lets not forget Azhar and Jadeja. Presence of reknowned bookie in Indian dressing room definitely raises eyebrows. Same bookie was seen with Ghambir and i am sure your media told you enough about this episode. The real difference is presence of a strong BCCI and a weak and poorly run PCB.
What is wrong is wrong and these guys have been punished for it. If someone has confessed it no matter how late, lets give him a breathing space. Even if he comes back and plays for Pakistan, that would happen only after serving ban and paying the price for his mistake / fraud. Once declared eligible, even after five years of ban / prison, we can’t question him again only because he has received the punishment already, that too from an indepedent court not any Pakistani court. Hope it helps.

I can even give a go for these three guys but not for your Chairman Izaz butt and your UK ambassador. They should be sacked for providing or trying to provide cover up. Is this the reason Pakistan pays for its ambassadors? what a shame.

Sara : Our cricket team is concentrating and will recover. But we guys need not worry about it like you have to. Because out cricket players are in a safer hand than Izaz Butt

So ICC was true. Our local media was lodging propaganda against ICC and promoting these three players. Shame to our media as well. Those anchors and tv media should express their point of view after this development.Recommend

@malik: hey ..you don’t need to point fingers at us. Its not as if you guys have those “inborn qualities.” And anyways it takes one to know one! Since you’re so aware of our “non- existent” qualities ,shows that you people lack them as well. Corruption is everywhere. There is no denying it. Ever heard of Anna Hazare? Yea, the same guy raising his voice against corruption in India (read: NOT PAKISTAN). So yes, corruption is present everywhere. You just need to stop judging us. (:Recommend

Think big!. Sorry to say Media channels are exploting his image. We need to support and Media can play a big role intead of doing leg pulling on Paki Channels. I love Ammir bowling one of the best natural swinger. We need Afridi and Mohammed Asif back as well.

If that would be a case with any Eng or Aussie player, there media won’t be exploting that much and banning for only 1 year. But with Pakistani cricketers they are afraid and ban for 5yrs.

Totally conspiracy and un-fair with our gr8 players. People need to be unite in support and that will strength Pakistani team and Pakistan will get benefit.Recommend

@Pure Pak: Man I agree with 1000% because you want these guys to be back in cricket. That’s what my point is if that would have done by english player he wouldn’t get such a hard punishment or fi9. Because we don’t have the ICC shares. ICC wouldn’t be that harsh if gambling goes in Southafrica, England or Australia. They know how to tackle quietly and defend their cricket players. However, we are opposite thats a weakness.Recommend

I love my pak team’ i love my all team players ‘ i like amir’ asif and butt ‘ its the part of life ‘ dnt worry what u did ‘ u confessed it ‘ we forgive u and we love u Indians should worry about their players and their cricket because they have number of spot/match fixers ‘ bookies ‘and they r rasing fingers towards us.Recommend

@ Fawad.. thats the culture I was trying to point out….. so in a country who tends to get the verdict for any fallacy done…. then lets not talk about fair and unfair policies…. so if Amir , Asif and all should come back , than lets not criticize what Ijaz Butt is doing or any other person who we all criticize.This culture has to stop man. Let me remind you , in 1993 when Wasim and Waqar were caught at Grenada beach in West Indies and jailed for a day , when Miandad bailed them out, that was the time those players should have been heavily reprimanded if not banned… you would never had had an amir , or asif or a Butt. Stop thinking emotionally and think for the country…. I live abroad and what I see and learn from these people is that they have a system and they never let anybody go above the system. No matter what you say to Australian cricket, let me remind you again that a player like the calibre of Shane Warne was banned from International cricket for one year Sir on a nurse scandal and not following boards policies… Fawad ji at that time , Warne was at his peak… and he would have had 1200 test wickets if he wouldnt have had lost an year… dont worry we will have more Asifs and Amirs in future… finish their careers and set an example for the betterment of cricket for years to come…that is the only way the Board can make a statement……with bowlers like Ajmal, Wahab Riaz… things are still ok…. Recommend

how absurd is to support criminals that have taken bribe against their motherland, their nation and their own people. They should be acting as a role model but now they should be made example. Rather then blaming CIA, MOSAD and RAW it would be better to start educating our cricketers and people. Amir has not confessed because he was overwhelmed by shame but it must be his lawyer’s advice to reduce the sentence.Recommend

@Paki: You know English players do more gambling than us but their Media doesn’t exploit the way we do. Media can big effort and can put AAA(Asif,Amir, Afridi) back on track to Pakistani cric. I m saying it becz I have seen young 17yrs old Amir and Asif destroying Aus, Eng and Indian batting line.

Be Pakistani and support these players by any means even they are in tough time. Atlease Media can talk about reducing their 5 Year ban to 1 or 2 years. Amir and Asif both are young and lot of potential that can lead Pak to win the next T20 and Worldcup!.

it is ridiculous and petty for us to invoke our national pride in this case. What national pride are we talking about? what we breed as a nation is nothing to be proud off. If it is pride and integrity we so dearly wish for, we should re orient our society to reflect that at all levels, and in all fields of life. We must stop blaming others for are faults and try and disown the few among us who happen to get caught in while doing wrong, and rest assured our entire society is plagued with such vices. For once we should try and be reasonable and mature in our response to an incident. Any crime or wrong act deserves punishment as per law, and amir along with other convicted players have recieved that. So for all those who wish for a life ban must stop their clamour for honor and pride. It doesnt make any sense. As for amir its good to see he has finally developed the courage to speak the truth, and that only must be appreciated and the law allowed to take its course.

@ Fawad … I dont know which pride are you talking about and i dont know why you find patriotic feelings in supporting criminals…. what is your concept of justice….. by just bowling good outswingers and inswingers, u find Amir above the law… sorry Fawad no one is above the law…. and I am sorry to say that is why we will never progress with this VIP culture ….. and this is what our society depicts as pointed out by a friend above…definitely any crime deserves punishment….. if Amir and Asif are innocent than so was shoaib akhter when he was fined 50 lakh rupees and so was afridi when he was fined 50 lakh rupees…sorry i dont agree with you because for me patriotism is getting rid of bad elements whether it be convicted cricketers …. its a shame when the whole media , your ambassador and the players initially told ICC tribunal that they were innocent and now Amir comes with a confession,,,,, people find it an act of gentlemanly acceptance…. i call it disgusting …. and I dont understand how can u support asif… who has been convicted for keeping drugs on Dubai airport ,,,, ban for using drugs in sports …. man i feel sorry for everyone actually supporting these players….. i wish ICC ignores Amirs plea and converst his 5 year ban into a life time ban for initially speaking lies….

@TightDhoti: Why we still stuck on these spicy news! Move ahead and get out of this mess and making effort collectively to get out our players from this ICC conspiracy so called Goora doesn’t want to see young 17yr Amir to destroy their batting line.

Sorry to say Man our ppl are the 1st one to do leg pulling of these gr8 players and then we say its a shame after getting such news. Media exploits and ppl together want to make effort to bring back these AAA( Amir,Asif,Afridi). Thumbs up if you agree.

Whether they r from Pakistan or be any other country in the world, they should be sentenced to jail for these criminal charges.

It will be a special lesson particulalry for those talented faces of pakistani cricket who tend to idolize the likes of Wasims & Waqars, Ijaz Ahmeds, Basit Alis. Not realizing the fact that despite their cricketing brilliance they never have remained loyal to the game.Recommend

Amir is a very imprudent young man, he knew he was guilty but to adopt an arrogant attitude about the entire ordeal is even more foolish. After watching the “tapes” It was obvious to most that all three were guilty as charged, however, I feel the blame must rest on the shoulders that of Salaman Butt and Asif for reciting him and bigger blame on PCB for feeding a young teenager to the greedy wolves.
It is a great pity to see such talent go to waste but a life ban would be appropriate in order to protect the future talent of Pakistan from going to waste, and to reaffirm the new breed from thinking that they are invincible…
Amir is a great loss for Pakistan cricket…I loved raw talent of bowling fast and furious and yet, he looked so pure and innocent…a real shame.
.

@Ms Sara: India did not ask for number one tag, it came because we were winning. We lost the place because we lost to England and bad at that. And thats it. But still no one even ever thought that there was a no ball, scripted by some bookie and followed by a team member, nor was there any fixing. Forget India, remember how Pakistani cricket was thought of by the recent advertisement in New Zealand that PCB ran to get out of TV?? Thats the reputation, be it politics or cricket.
Yes, we have corruption but we also have Anna Hazare, like you pointed out…because we know our problems and strive to solve them, we dont hide them.
Do you remember calls for relief donations from across the world for flood victims? Even UN appealed for it…did you notice what world said, no one came forward to give even a penny without a third party audit as to where money would be spent.
If Anna Hazare fasted, govt listens to it and now all parties get together and are working on a new law which is sure to pass. Can you claim the same in Pakistan? There is someone in Pakistan fasting like Hazare, behind who entire country stood, what about this fasting man in Pakistan?? No one is bothered, because everyone is involved in the trade…You get what I am saying?? Recommend

Some people defending it for the heck of it…recently, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan was caught by Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, at New Delhi Airport for carrying more cash than allowed. He feigned ignorance of the law and paid the penalties and was let off.
In the meantime, Pakistani media started shouted from the roof top as if Indians had done some conspiracy against Pakistan. Afterwards Rahat came on Crossfire with Meher Bukhari and she was again, as usual going berserk against India. Whereas Rahat clearly said, that he was treated very nicely by Indians and Indian Govt Dept cooperated with him and he was never arrested as implied by Pakistani media. But she did not back out kept going on her rant…it was so very amusing that the concerned person was praising Indians but Meher was talking against them…and when Rahat said, he was let off, she retorted, “only after paying the fine”…what does she think, India should also follow the same VIP culture?? Rahat pointed out that very often Indian bollywood stars are caught by the same officials and all of them have to pay fine…but she could not understand….hope that says the kind of mindset that exists. Recommend

it is definitely a real shame to loose Amir but I can only feel sympathy for him but not agree with the idea that his ban should be lifted. And I agree with Firaz 100 % with what he has written. Primarily what we , Pakistanis are suffering from is a sick mentality. Please don’t take this negatively because every other nation has been in it and came out. The problem with us is we don’t want to come out. This is truly reflected in these comments that people have been writing about this whole Amir issue. I just do not understand how people can ask to let go of a criminal act and think its just ok . This person lies and cheats and denies in front of a tribunal of ICC and than confesses again. This is a slap to our media, our cricket board, our government and to every mind set who has been supporting these people. Its nit about Amir, its about killing this bud of corruption that has derailed cricket. Look at the drawbacks of letting him thorough. U have let hom go scott free of all the sins he has committed for what….. I request the people to come out of this mentality where you cannot just differentiate between what is wrong and right. I again hope Amir gets a life ban so that this corrupt problem of match fixing is taken out from our cricket for ever.Recommend

The suprising part is that the amount of talent he had in him he had the pace of akhtar the swing of wasim akram the accuracy of mcgrath the reverse swinging yorkers of waqar younis, he had the charisma the fear he brought into a batsmen he had dismissed worlds renowned bastmen such as tendlukar he troubled sehwag watson pointing couldnt onemore match amir bowling to cook whould have finsihed cook who know is one of the best test batsman cook is a guy troubling bowling attacks of countries such as india australia sri lanak but when pakistan were playing wat happened to him? it was becuase we had the most potentially lethal opening bowling partnership in the world with amir and asif they could have turned out to eb better than wasim an waqar liillie and ahdlee the lethal west indian bowlers they would have been better than steyn and morkel

@Ali:
no he wouldn’t have. There was really no benefits on his side from confessing. Instead he may have got himself and his family killed. Judge Beloff and his committee even recommended that the length of minimum punishment should be reduced for exceptional cases relating to age,naivety,etc. As the current ICC laws stand, they were forced to give him a minimum of 5 years if they did not believe his innocence. Obviously they could have increased the sentence for Butt and Asif had amir confessed. But Michael Beloff himself said hey wanted to give Amir a lower punishment regardless.

indians are very happy as butt scored 5 centuries against and asif removed their so called GODs of cricket like sachin and laxman and all those.Dont forget amir removed tendulkar for duck.Indians prayers are heard.they will not face these players in future.

By listening to ppl say that Amir is innocent …. i think there is air between their ears …. he confessed man and u guys saying he is innocent …. for heavens sake move on and concentrate on the left over cricket we have …. they are criminals so let them go …. please do not support the culture of criminals ….. if Amir , Salman and Asif can come back , so can all the corrupt leaders of our country … they all should be given another chance in next elections … and if you guys will not support those corrupt politicians in the next elections, than all of you are the lamest hypocrites walking on Gods green earth